Damn Dress: A Love Story Ch. 09

"Sienna," Brandon whispered to her, as she felt the covers slide away from her body, causing her to feel an instant chill.

His voice startled her. What the hell was he doing in her room? She had to be dreaming.

"Brandon, what ar--" she tried to ask, as her eyes adjusted to the dark and his figure hovering above her. But before she could finish her question, he placed his index finger to her lips, to quiet her.

"Sshh," he said softly, as he slowly ran his eyes up and down her almost naked, shivering body. Sienna immediately felt self-conscious. His eyes were devouring her and she was only wearing a torn, too small little league shirt and a pair of blue cotton panties. The shirt just barely covered the small swell of her stomach.

She bit her lip and watched as Brandon hooked his fingers into the straps of her panties and gradually slid them down and off her legs.

Sienna couldn't believe this was happening. It had been almost a month and a half since she had seen Brandon. Not since Michael's birthday party, and now here he was in her bedroom, about to make love to her, and damn if she could stop him. A part of her wanted this so bad. She knew her father was just right down the hall, but Brandon was giving her THAT look. Yes, she knew she wasn't going to stop him. She had so many questions running through her mind, but her brain was quickly turning into mush as his warm hands caressed her skin.

He reached up and removed her shirt. His hands instantly latched onto her breasts and began massaging them. Sienna closed her eyes and gritted her teeth against the moan in the back of her throat. Damn, she had missed this.

Finally, he pulled off his shirt, pants and underwear...and Sienna couldn't help but marvel at that perfect, hard body as he climbed on top of her. He was beautiful.

"I love you," he said, as he fluidly pushed himself within her body. Sienna threw her head back against her pillow. God, she had missed this sooooo much. Her body only responded to him. Not like she had anything to really judge it by, but she couldn't imagine anyone else making her feel this way. Filling her up so completely, where she lost all her fucking senses. No! This wasn't supposed to be happening. They were no longer together and they still had so much baggage between them that hadn't been discussed. What the hell was she doing?

She tried several times to get him to stop...at least in her mind, anyway. Her body was pulling him in further and further, while her mouth was murmuring, "I love you, I need you." She felt so lost and helpless. But this was the happiest she had been in months.

And just like that, he was gone. Sienna let out a small scream and jumped from the bed. 'What the fuck?' she thought. Her panties were soaking wet and she was sweating. She looked around the room, and everything was in place.

Damn him for always invading her fucking dreams!! She had to get up in less than an hour for school, and she felt like she had just run a marathon.

"Shit," she muttered, as she made her way to the bathroom to shower. The sun was already peeking through, so she thought she might as well get up and just be early for class.

***********************

"What's up, bitch?" Darren asked, as he made his way inside Brandon's house and gave him a 'my boy' handshake.

"I got your bitch for you," Brandon grinned, with his eyes barely open. What the fuck had Tasha done to Darren? Usually Darren slept as late as he did during the week, but now he was showing up at his house all early and in a cheerful mood. No, this was not his boy, Darren.

"Yeah, I did. See how well that worked out," Brandon muttered, as he turned his back and made his way to the bathroom.

"Damn, BT, you look like you had a rough night," Darren yelled, observing Brandon's disheveled hair and puffy eyes.

"Well, I finished the baby's room. It only took me until 5:30 in the Goddamn morning, but it's done."

Darren started making his way to the back room—soon to be baby room. When he entered, he was completely blown away. The walls were a light, creamy yellow with pictures of Disney princesses scattered across them. There was a nice, sturdy crib, baby toys and a colorful book case with baby books. The changing table was carefully placed in the corner, and little girl trinkets were set up throughout the room. The rug on the floor was a giant butterfly, whose wings had flecks of yellow that matched the walls. The room really did look like it belonged in a catalogue for Ikea.

"You did all of this last night?" Darren asked, truly impressed.

Brandon leaned against the door frame, "Yeah, what do you think? Does it look okay?"

"Does it look okay? Man, this looks great. Seriously, Sienna will be happy when she sees this."

"I still don't know what all goes in a baby room, but I did some research about some things that they will need. And although the baby can't read, they said you're supposed to read to them and stuff, so that's why I added the book case," Brandon said nervously, wondering if he had gone overboard.

Darren turned to him. "So this one is the keeper, huh?"

"Absolutely. My body can't take any more. I been through all kinds of shit with the SEALs, and I swear, this is one of the hardest fucking things I've done," Brandon admitted.

"Well, it's also probably emotional for you too, so that probably takes a lot out of you."

Brandon thought about that for a moment. "Yeah, you're probably right."

The two made their way back down to the front of the house. Darren started raiding the refrigerator, while Brandon plopped down on the couch and rested his hand over his eyes. He just wanted to go back to sleep.

"So," Darren started, while he crunched on some chips and dip left over from the food they bought last Sunday for the football games. "When are you and Sienna going to have the 'talk'?"

"Whenever she wants," Brandon answered, not bothering to remove his hand.

"So, you're not going to go over there, kick the door in, throw her over your shoulder and pull her back into your cave," Darren chuckled, while he stuffed another chip in his mouth.

"Trust me, I've been tempted."

Darren laughed. "Come on man, you're coming to Tasha's with me so you can get a decent meal. She's doing a brunch today and that girl can cook!"

Brandon wanted to decline the invitation, but he really was hungry and another breakfast or dinner from a cardboard box didn't sound too appetizing. Plus, it had been a while since he'd actually left his house.

"Alright," he answered. "Gotta take a shower and change. Be done in 20 minutes."

"Cool. I'm hungry as hell," Darren said, as he sat down on the couch and stuffed another chip in his mouth.

***************************

When Darren and Brandon finally arrived at Tasha's place, they both noticed Sienna's car in the driveway. "Fuck," Brandon muttered. He had wanted to see her so badly, but he didn't want to surprise her like this. The last time he had seen her, at Michael's party, he felt like he had upset her. He didn't want to do that again.

"You know what, just take me back. She made it clear she doesn't want to be around me, and I don't want to piss her off or stress her out," Brandon said, while his eyes searched around the premises for her.

"Fuck that, you don't have to go anywhere. You two need to work this out anyway," Darren argued, as he turned off the ignition and got out.

Brandon sat there for a moment. 'Fuck,' was all he could think. Sienna had been giving him more frequent updates, but still, things weren't so good with them. She still barely had more than a few words to say to him. In the few bits and pieces that he received over the phone, he couldn't tell if she was sad or angry. But at least she was healthy, and so was his baby girl.

As soon as they walked inside, the aroma from the food hit them. Darren smiled and rubbed his hands together while Brandon took in his surroundings, again looking for Sienna. Tasha glanced up and smiled from the kitchen when she saw Darren, but it quickly faded when she noticed Brandon standing like a statue behind him. Brandon wasn't sure if she was annoyed or confused. Women confused the hell out of him.

Tasha quickly looked down the hallway and then back to Darren and Brandon. She threw her dishrag over her shoulder and walked over to them. "Hey guys. Um, you know Sienna is here, right?" she asked, questioning their sanity, while crossing her arms over her chest.

"See man, I told you this is a bad idea, I'll just go," Brandon said, making his way for the door.

"No, don't go. You are my friend and you have a right to be here," Darren stated. "Tasha, you said any friend of mine is welcome in your house. I hope that includes my best one, you know?"

Tasha stood glaring at Darren for a few seconds, then nodded and turned to walk back into the kitchen. Darren knew he was going to catch hell later. Tasha loved Brandon to death, but she was very overprotective of Sienna.

A few seconds later, they all froze, as they heard Michael and Sienna laughing as they came down the hallway.

"Oh my God, Tasha, this boy beat me so bad in this game, that I—," she started, but stopped when she noticed three sets of eyes on her. Her eyes immediately flew to Brandon's face, then to Tasha.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were having guests this morning. I'll, um, I have to take off anyway. My teacher gave us this--this crazy homework assignment earlier this morning, so I--I should, um, probably finish that up," she stuttered, while searching for her purse.

"Sienna, don't go! Please! Darren never lets me win the game, and you really suck. I want to play some more after breakfast. Please!" Michael begged, while tugging on her arm.

Sienna knew she was stuck between a rock and a hard place. They were all standing there, wondering what she was going to do. Should she pull away from Michael and leave him crying in a tantrum on the floor or stay, and try like hell to not break down in front of them?

Sienna looked back down at Michael. He was just so adorable, she couldn't help herself. She sighed and turned to Tasha, "Anything I can help you with?" Michael clapped his hands together and hugged her.

Sienna and Tasha stayed in the kitchen cooking, while Darren, Brandon and Michael sat in the living room watching football highlights on ESPN. Brandon hadn't said a word since Sienna emerged from the back. Darren looked over at him and sighed. He had to get those two talking to each other before they left this house.

Sienna was trying her best to prolong the cooking of the food, because in Tasha's house everyone had to sit at the table and eat. No eating while watching TV, which is exactly what Sienna would have preferred.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know he was coming," Tasha whispered to Sienna.

Sienna shrugged. "It's okay, it's fine." Even though inside she felt like she was dying. Normally, before the bottom dropped out, she would have crawled up on his lap, rested her head against his shoulder and watched ESPN with him, but now she could only glance up at the back of his head every now and then.

Once the cooking was finally done, Sienna set the table and Tasha called them to come and eat.

The table had 5 chairs surrounding it. Brandon was about to take the seat in between Michael and Darren, when Darren pulled Michael out of the way, and shoved Brandon to the next chair beside Sienna. Brandon gave him an evil look, but sat down anyway.

They all passed the food around and filled their plates in silence. Michael looked around at everyone, confused. Usually, when his mom's friends came over, everyone was loud and talking over each other. Now, no one was saying anything. He wondered if they were mad at him for hogging Sienna earlier.

"So, little man, did you enjoy having the day off from school?" Darren asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Yeah," Michael answered.

"Tell Darren what happened yesterday in school," Tasha said, smiling.

"Um, this girl tried to hug me. It was gross. I pushed her away," Michael answered, while piling a huge forkful of eggs into his mouth.

Brandon chuckled. That had caught him off guard. Kids were funny sometimes. Especially Michael.

Darren laughed, "Well, soon you'll be the one trying to get her. And then that's a world of problems."

"Don't start giving him any ideas. Jeez, he's only six, I'd like him to keep pushing girls away as long as he can," Tasha said.

Darren ignored her. "Are there any girls you think are pretty, like how your mom is pretty?"

Michael thought for a second, and then answered honestly like children do. "Yep, I think Sienna is pretty, even if she's old."

Brandon and Darren both laughed out loud again. Tasha just shook her head, while Sienna looked embarrassed that all of this attention was on her.

"Hmm, if you think eighteen is old, then you must think I'm ancient," Tasha said, staring at her son.

Michael smiled back at her, "Yes, you are pretty old, too. I mean, pretty and old," he corrected.

Darren couldn't help himself, he was dying laughing. Brandon was trying to control his laughter, but he kept chuckling because Darren had his head thrown back, as his laughter filled the room.

"That's okay Darren, keep laughing. You'll get yours later tonight. Or not get it, more like it," Tasha warned.

That shut Darren up. "Aw, baby, you know I don't think you're old. Plus, I like my women a little more mature. You're teaching this 28 year-old things I didn't know existed," he teased, while squeezing her thigh underneath the table.

Tasha squealed, and pushed his hand away.

Brandon and Sienna both stared at them, enviously. How quickly had things changed.

Michael stared at Sienna. "My momma told me that you have a baby in your stomach. How'd that happen?"

"I'm not being rude. I just want to know how she did that, because I don't ever want a baby in my stomach. It's weird. Don't they just eat all of your food that you want to eat?" he asked, making a face.

Sienna was frozen. She didn't know what the hell to say. "Um, well, I--,"

"Was it something you drank or ate? Because my teacher, Mrs. Fuller, started eating a lot, and then she got one in her stomach, too."

Darren spoke up, "Yep, and she ate all of BT's food."

Tasha swung at Darren, hitting him in the shoulder, while Brandon kicked his shin underneath the table.

"Ow, shit," Darren muttered. He was just making a joke to lighten the situation, he thought to himself.

"Michael, we'll talk about that later. It's not appropriate for the table, so don't say another word about it," Tasha warned.

Michael stared at his mother, and then started eating his food. He didn't understand why 'old' people were so confusing.

Sienna remained quiet and picked over her food. She wanted to leave so badly. She could see Brandon looking at her out of the corner of her eye.

Darren was sick of this shit. He knew they were both crazy about each other, and he wanted them to talk.

"So, Sienna, you should see what BT's done to the back room in his house," he said, stuffing his face.

Sienna looked up at him, then quickly glanced to Brandon, then back to

Darren. "Um, what has he done?" she asked.

"Well, you should ask him," he said, while getting up to get something to drink.

At that moment, Sienna wanted to smack Darren. Hard. She wasn't ready to do this. She turned to Brandon. He was leaning back in his chair, staring at her.

"So, what did you do?" she tried to ask in the friendliest way she could.

"Um, sure, I'd like that," Sienna answered, while picking over her food again.

"Really?" she heard Brandon ask. She looked up at him and he was staring at her again. Damn, those eyes of his. She felt lost in them.

"Yes, I'd like to see it," she replied.

"Good," Darren interrupted. "Then we can kill two birds with one stone. I don't feel like dragging his as—butt back over to his place, so why don't you take him back and then you can see the room for yourself?"

Brandon had to laugh on the inside. God bless his meddling friend. He was worse than an old woman sitting on her porch.

Sienna knew she was trapped. Fine, she thought. She would just have to be strong and get this over with.

The rest of the brunch had gone on without a hitch. Sienna and Michael left the table a little early, so that they could finish his Star Wars game.

Tasha leaned back in her chair and stared at Brandon and Darren. A small smile formed at the corner of her mouth.

"Hmm, did you guys plan that?" she asked.

Brandon shook his head. "Nope, that was all your Dr. Phil over here."

"Well, I see an opportunity, I seize it," Darren admitted.

Sienna came from the back room and glanced around the table. "Well, that was really good, Tasha. As always. Thank you for inviting me."

"No problem, girl. Glad you only had one class today," Tasha answered.

Sienna stood there for a moment, dreading what was to come next. She glanced over at Brandon, and, as always, he was staring at her.

"Um, so BT, if you're ready, I can take you home now," she said, as she searched around for her purse.

Brandon got up from the table and stretched. "Sure, I'm ready," he said, as he followed her out of the door.

In the car ride over, neither said anything. Brandon because he didn't want to upset her, and Sienna because she wasn't sure what to say.

When they arrived at his place, she parked, and he unbuckled his seatbelt. He glanced over at her and she was gripping the steering wheel with the engine still running.

"Did you want to come in and see the room?" Brandon asked.

She shook her head.

Brandon sighed. Shit. He was going to have to upset her.

"Sienna, you said you wanted to see it, now is your chance. So will you please come in and look at it?"

Sienna hadn't been inside his house in months. Not since the night she went to the hospital. She knew she had said she would, but she didn't think she could. Not now.

"I'll, um, I can see it another time. I really have to get this report done, so..." was all she could think of to say, as she stared straight ahead.

Brandon quickly got out and slammed the door. So much for easy-going-Brandon. He walked around to the driver's side of the car, opened the door, leaned in and unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Brandon, what the--," she said.

He pulled the keys out of the ignition, stuck them in his pocket and turned to walk into his house.

Sienna sat there in the car completely amazed. She would never have the balls to do that to someone, but that was Brandon. He did exactly what he felt, and that's what drove her crazy. In a good way.

"Damn it!" she screamed, as she hopped out of the car and went inside.

"Brandon, I said I would check out the room, you didn't have to do that. I really have stuff I need to do," she said.

"I know, but sometimes you have a hard time being completely honest with me," he said, letting that sink in. She looked away from him.

"You said you would look at it when you got here, so keep your word, and come see it."

She stood in the middle of his living room, face burning. He had her with that comment. But she couldn't seem to get her feet to follow him to the back of the house. And again, she felt self-conscious. She was in a dress she felt fit way too snug across her mid-section, which was now sticking out a bit.

She watched as he walked over to her, grabbed her hand and led her toward the back. Right before they reached the room, Brandon got behind her and placed his hands over her eyes. "Okay, no peeking," he whispered against her ear.